Song of the Month
Every month the song/dance/activity will change. Many of the songs will be from my Recordings. Please print the page and do the activity with your child. Teachers may print the page to use with their classes. If you have questions, Contact Me.
November 2005
Please Pass the Peas
Listen to the whole song on H.U.M. — All Year Long or hear it here:
Learning to pass something to another friend is a skill. Not fling, toss, throw, hoist or lob – PASS. Put an object safely in someone else's hands! "Please Pass the Peas" is a delightful song, with lots of phonemic fun – Please Please Please Pass the Peas – and if you use Plastic Peas, or Paper Plate Peas –- while singing those Polite words –- Pucker up!
Practice passing a single item all the way around the circle (even if there's only 3 of you doing it at home!) before singing the song. You may not start speeding up until you've done it several times. Then, once passing is happening with ease, sing faster, and add another set of "peas". Or 2 or 3 more, depending on the number of children you have. No one is "out" in this game – it's just fun for everyone! Be sure to model appropriate passing behavior - remember, children look to adults to see how something is done.
I love doing this song in early November –- in preparation for Thanksgiving, where they may sit at a table with several items to pass around. Kids love doing this song all year long! See ideas for peas below.
| Lyrics: | Please please please pass the peas! |
| Movements: | Sit on the floor in a circle, close enough for children to comfortably pass an item to the child next to them, but not so close that a child is behind another child, and might be skipped. Pass "peas". If a child cannot pass the peas without throwing them, you could ask them to sit out for just a minute and watch what happens as the peas go around the circle, then join in again when they feel ready. |
Age Range: 3 – 7 years old
Purpose: identifying good manners, passing, self-control, singing and moving simultaneously
What to use as PEAS: I found plastic play-food in a toystore – little piles of peas. You can also use a small paper plate on which the children have markered green circles, or glued green dots. Small beanbags work well, too! One class then chose to pass "potatos" (I loved it – they chose another "p" word!) by using plastic fast food french fries!